Eight 3D printers, thousands of PPE: Coquitlam couple gives back to frontline workers

COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – A Coquitlam couple has turned their home into a make-shift production operation dedicated to helping frontline workers around the Lower Mainland.

With eight 3D printers, Jamie Haakons and Keisha Go have already printed thousands of face shields and ear savers, with plenty more to go.

“With our current output, we have about 300 items per day that we’re producing,” Haakons, a mechanical engineer by trade, told NEWS 1130.

The husband and wife had recently been on a trip to the Philippines, where they noticed a severe lack of personal protective equipment. So, with the printer they already had at home, they decided they would produce some of these items, and ship them over.

However, they soon became unable to send batches of the masks and ear savers overseas, so they shifted their focus closer to home.

“Jamie had the thought that maybe we could try and see if there were some hospitals in our city that actually need them,” Go said. “And, turns out, he was right. There was actually a lot of hospitals and frontliners who also need them.”

A #Coquitlam couple is using EIGHT 3D printers to make face shields and ears savers for frontline workers. Hear more about how they’re helping amid the #COVID19 pandemic on @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/h1P2C4hgTr

— Hana Mae Nassar (@HanaMaeNassar) April 23, 2020

Hospitals, clinics, and longterm care

She added the items have already been sent to hospitals like Vancouver General, Royal Columbian, Surrey Memorial, and a number of smaller clinics.

“We find that the GPs and dental clinics also don’t get these PPEs and they also are very much working and do face-to-face with a lot of patients. We also get quite a lot of calls from nursing homes and longterm care homes,” Go said.

Hundreds of face shields — about a third of the couple’s donations — have gone to Lower Mainland longterm care homes, Haakons noted.

All of the items are given to those in need at no charge.

Donations help production

So how much does this cost? Haakons said it adds up, but they’ve been getting help through online donations — which have already raised thousands of dollars.

“We’re being completely transparent, we actually have a Google sheet that’s global right now and everyone can see where the money is going and how much the materials cost,” Haakons explained, adding each shield costs about $1 to make. The ear savers, which are used to hook elastics on masks to to alleviate the pressure on a frontline worker’s face and ears, cost about 10 cents each.

The pair started off with just one printer they already had at home, which was used for hobbies.

But neither of them ever thought what they were doing would garner so much interest. Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart even took the time to chat with them both about their efforts.

“I think both of us were quite shocked,” Go said.

“Our expansion was pretty unexpected,” Haakons added. “When we started it, we were maybe four days into it, we had spent about $700 or $800 of our money before a bunch of people were like, ‘Hey, we kind of want to help too.’ Within a couple days of launching the Facebook fundraiser, I think we were up to five printers, and then a week after that we were up to eight printers. We’ve now raised over $5,000 total.”

All of these items are also made with PETG, which Haakons said can be sanitized and sterilized easily.

Daily at-home production begins first thing in the morning, despite both Haakons and Go working.

“We’re actually both working from home right now, so yeah, it’s full time. It’s from when we wake up at about 7 until maybe 10 or 11 at night,” Haakons said, laughing, with Go adding sometimes they continue printing until later.

The constant running of the eight printers also impacts their indoor environment, with the couple saying the temperature warms up by day’s-end, forcing them to turn on the air conditioner at times. They expect their Hydro bills will be a little higher than normal once all is said and done.

And frontline workers aren’t the only people who will end up benefiting from the couple’s efforts.

Some of the printers they are using are “on loan,” but Haakons said the machines the couple has purchased will go to another good cause once the pandemic is over.

“There’s four printers total that we will be donating to schools. So Keisha and I will go to the school, set it up, show the kids how to use it, and we’ll let them have the machines.”

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